Andre Klynsmith

Technology and Trends

120 Million Attempts in One Month: The Cyber Bill Arriving With Every Digital Port Upgrade

The Port of Los Angeles, the busiest container gateway in the United States, foiled more than 120 million cyberattack attempts in August alone, its executive director told Bloomberg Television this week. The disclosure landed days after US officials said government agencies were tracking cyber threats against nearly 20 ships around the world, and it arrives as SADC ports push ahead with the digital systems that create exactly this exposure.

Technology and Trends

18 September 2026 • 4 min read

"All they have to do is to get it right one time," Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said. That is the asymmetry every digitising port and every forwarder plugged into one now lives with. The upgrade that cuts your clearance time also widens the surface someone can attack.

What the Port Actually Sees

Seroka said the port identified intrusion attempts, network exploitation, credential harvesting and malware among the traffic it blocked during the month. Its cybersecurity operations team works in a coalition with private-sector businesses to form what he described as a seven-layer digital defence around port operations.

Two details deserve attention. The first is credential harvesting, which is an attack on people rather than on infrastructure, and the credentials worth stealing include those of the shipping lines, terminal operators, hauliers and customs brokers who log in from outside the port. The second is the coalition model. The port did not build this alone, and it does not treat its own perimeter as the whole perimeter.

Why the Threat Is Following the Cargo

Attacks in the maritime sector have escalated as vessels have become more dependent on digital systems for navigation, communications and operations. The same is true ashore. A port that runs truck appointments, gate access, stack planning and customs messaging through connected systems has converted a physical queue into a software dependency, and software dependencies fail differently. A crane breakdown stops one berth. A compromised terminal operating system stops the gate, the yard and the paperwork at once.

Los Angeles is also carrying more traffic because of rerouting. Seroka said the port has benefited from ships diverting away from the Suez and Panama canals for security and weather reasons, and that low water levels in the Panama Canal push Asian cargo onto the US west coast for onward overland haulage. Having just completed its busiest three-month period on record over June to August, he said volumes could rise a further 5% to 10% on Panama restrictions alone. Rerouting concentrates cargo, and concentrated cargo concentrates consequence.

The SADC Version of This Problem

Southern African ports and customs authorities are in the middle of exactly this transition: terminal appointment and slot-booking systems, electronic customs messaging, single-window projects and corridor data exchange between neighbouring administrations. Each integration is genuine progress on clearance times, and each one is also a new door. The weakest door is rarely the port's own firewall. It is the small forwarder or transporter with a shared login, no multi-factor authentication and a laptop that has not been patched since installation.

There is also a commercial dimension that has nothing to do with hackers breaking anything. If your business cannot prove basic security hygiene, you will increasingly struggle to get or keep direct access to a terminal or customs platform, in the same way that accreditation schemes and trusted-trader status already sort operators. Cyber readiness is quietly becoming a qualification to trade, not just an IT expense.

About the Author
	Andre Klynsmith Entrepreneur & Technology Enthusiast Andre's expertise spans technology, blockchain, transport, and logistics -- with a passion for innovation and driving positive change across industries. info@laaimylorrie.com | laaimylorrie.com